So, there was a little incident that I left out that I would now like to share with you. It is important and I know that if you are reading this, you probably share my feelings.
Let me take you back a bit. As you know, we were on our way to Rome and our first flight had been canceled. After a bit of a circus, we were put up into a hotel (at the airlines expense) fed and a flight was rebooked. It was a long 24 hours, to be sure. We did not really make friends with fellow passengers, but we were a small community for a short time and many faces had become familiar.
So, after we got to the airport in the morning, we got our breakfast vouchers and had our breakfast. Then we waited for our gate to be called. Remember since we were flying the budget airline EasyJet without any seat assignments, we were paranoid about sitting with each other and so we were tried to get to the front of every que. When our gate was announced, we headed to our new gate. Another note about the budget airline, we were only allowed one item on the plane and it had to be a certain size. Anything additional had to be checked and there was a fee for checking extra bags.
We handed the staff our boarding pass and went to stand in another que. At this point, they board the "Speedy Boarding" people. Those are people that have paid for the privilege, which we did not. There was a specific seating area for the speedy borders and an area for the regulars passengers. At this point many did not care and moved into the speedy boarding area, and hearing that conversation take place I moved up into the area as well with 2 of the kids. Super Handsome stayed back with the two others.
A man, his wife, son and daughter (both teens) walk up to the speeding boarding area, I think that they all had two bags each (oops!) and they were being trailed by a staff member who said "Sir" at least twice to the man. There was an angry confrontation, mostly on the side of the fellow passenger regarding their baggage. The staff member had to be a bit forceful as well. We all watched as the family was led back to where my husband, and my older sons were waiting and it looked like there was a bit of repacking done.
I turned my attention back to where we were and waited. All of a sudden there was a scream and I heard Super Handsome yelling at someone. I looked back in alarm and took a step or two toward the commotion and then stopped to watch what was happening. The teen girl was on the floor crying, the scream had come from her. My husband was yelling at the father.
Something happened that made the father so angry with the teen girl that he had grabbed at her as she tried to move away, he forcefully grabbed her and ended up pushing her on the floor. At this point Super Handsome stepped in and grabbed the man's shoulder (he was taller then my husband) and Super Handsome told him "I don't care who she is, leave her alone". She was on the floor by this point and that is when I saw what was happening. The wife then stepped in and "told my husband off". She said that her husband was extremely tired, and he had had an extremely stressful day to which my husband replied "Yes, we all have, it's no excuse". In the meantime the man helped his daughter up and hugged her as she cried.
One of the ladies that we had been standing the day before turned to me and said something to the effect of "Unreal". I agreed. It was a bit upsetting to watch for sure. I am proud of Super Handsome. I am glad that he stepped into the tense situation and tried to diffuse it and I think that his intervention did help even though it was not appreciated. Discussing the whole thing later, we learned that our oldest son was not really not even very aware what was happening until my husband started yelling at the man. My 13 year old had no recollection of it at all. My kids are really unobservant I guess. The other thing that my husband mentioned was the wife seemed very unconcerned with the situation with the husband and daughter and was more consumed with my husband and watching what he was doing. We both still find that concerning....
I know that when we see things like this happen, it is sometimes hard to step in and do something about it. Super Handsome and I obviously feel that it is the right thing to do. This is the second incident that I have watched my husband step into in the last 12 months. The one before was at my 9 year old's dive meet in Fort Wayne. A parent was verbally abusing a teen coach. The father that Super Handsome spoke to then turned his anger onto my husband which brought me out of the observer mode to an active participant. That father was rewarded for his bad behavior and received a life time ban from the facility.
We have a social responsibility to step in and not let people bully or mistreat others. Period.
Let me take you back a bit. As you know, we were on our way to Rome and our first flight had been canceled. After a bit of a circus, we were put up into a hotel (at the airlines expense) fed and a flight was rebooked. It was a long 24 hours, to be sure. We did not really make friends with fellow passengers, but we were a small community for a short time and many faces had become familiar.
So, after we got to the airport in the morning, we got our breakfast vouchers and had our breakfast. Then we waited for our gate to be called. Remember since we were flying the budget airline EasyJet without any seat assignments, we were paranoid about sitting with each other and so we were tried to get to the front of every que. When our gate was announced, we headed to our new gate. Another note about the budget airline, we were only allowed one item on the plane and it had to be a certain size. Anything additional had to be checked and there was a fee for checking extra bags.
We handed the staff our boarding pass and went to stand in another que. At this point, they board the "Speedy Boarding" people. Those are people that have paid for the privilege, which we did not. There was a specific seating area for the speedy borders and an area for the regulars passengers. At this point many did not care and moved into the speedy boarding area, and hearing that conversation take place I moved up into the area as well with 2 of the kids. Super Handsome stayed back with the two others.
A man, his wife, son and daughter (both teens) walk up to the speeding boarding area, I think that they all had two bags each (oops!) and they were being trailed by a staff member who said "Sir" at least twice to the man. There was an angry confrontation, mostly on the side of the fellow passenger regarding their baggage. The staff member had to be a bit forceful as well. We all watched as the family was led back to where my husband, and my older sons were waiting and it looked like there was a bit of repacking done.
I turned my attention back to where we were and waited. All of a sudden there was a scream and I heard Super Handsome yelling at someone. I looked back in alarm and took a step or two toward the commotion and then stopped to watch what was happening. The teen girl was on the floor crying, the scream had come from her. My husband was yelling at the father.
Something happened that made the father so angry with the teen girl that he had grabbed at her as she tried to move away, he forcefully grabbed her and ended up pushing her on the floor. At this point Super Handsome stepped in and grabbed the man's shoulder (he was taller then my husband) and Super Handsome told him "I don't care who she is, leave her alone". She was on the floor by this point and that is when I saw what was happening. The wife then stepped in and "told my husband off". She said that her husband was extremely tired, and he had had an extremely stressful day to which my husband replied "Yes, we all have, it's no excuse". In the meantime the man helped his daughter up and hugged her as she cried.
One of the ladies that we had been standing the day before turned to me and said something to the effect of "Unreal". I agreed. It was a bit upsetting to watch for sure. I am proud of Super Handsome. I am glad that he stepped into the tense situation and tried to diffuse it and I think that his intervention did help even though it was not appreciated. Discussing the whole thing later, we learned that our oldest son was not really not even very aware what was happening until my husband started yelling at the man. My 13 year old had no recollection of it at all. My kids are really unobservant I guess. The other thing that my husband mentioned was the wife seemed very unconcerned with the situation with the husband and daughter and was more consumed with my husband and watching what he was doing. We both still find that concerning....
I know that when we see things like this happen, it is sometimes hard to step in and do something about it. Super Handsome and I obviously feel that it is the right thing to do. This is the second incident that I have watched my husband step into in the last 12 months. The one before was at my 9 year old's dive meet in Fort Wayne. A parent was verbally abusing a teen coach. The father that Super Handsome spoke to then turned his anger onto my husband which brought me out of the observer mode to an active participant. That father was rewarded for his bad behavior and received a life time ban from the facility.
We have a social responsibility to step in and not let people bully or mistreat others. Period.
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